So How Did ‘Archer’ Get The Rights To ‘Danger Zone’ Again?

No one rides into the danger zone as much as Sterling Archer does. FX’s masterful, genre-bending spy comedy has now been on the air for seven seasons, and during those seven seasons, the show has rarely dipped in quality. What you can expect from the show’s pilot is what you can expect from its final episode — a witty, self-referential comedy that refuses to slow itself down for audiences. There are a lot of things to love about Archer — the characters, the show’s extreme violence, Archer’s extended voicemails — but the best part of this series isn’t what viewers watch; it’s what they take away from the show. More than maybe any other show on TV, Archer is so very quotable.

Archer follows its fratty James Bond protagonist, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) as he completes missions for his mother’s (Jessica Walters) spy agency, turned drug cartel, turned spy agency again, turned private detective agency. That’s the world Archer lives in, one where agents suffer consequences for not counting their bullets but a spy agency can quadruple cross the U.S. government with only a slap on the wrist. While the acting and character work is fun, what makes the show worth watching (and rewatching) is its writing. From Lana’s (Aisha Tyler) signature “Nooope” and “Yuuup” to Archer’s complicated history with the term “phrasing,” this is a show committed to carrying jokes and catchphrases out until the bitter end. Few of those catch phrases have been more iconic than Archer’s use of the Kenny Loggins’ song “Danger Zone.” The song even has its own fan-made Archer sound board.

In the ‘80s, “Danger Zone” may have been popularized by Top Gun, but in 2016 TV, you can’t yell “Danger Zone” without Archer coming to mind. We wanted to know what went into this incredibly specific and dedicated running gag, so Decider had the opportunity to talk to Melissa Love, the Music Licensing Senior Director who was responsible for securing Archer the rights to “Danger Zone” and the intellectual property rights behind Season Seven’s Magnum P.I. trailer. Love has been working with Archer’s co-creator, executive producer, and lead writer, Adam Reed, since his Sealab 2021 days. When asked why “Danger Zone” is used so often in the series, Love said, “Adam Reed injected the reference in Season 1. Adam — who scripts every episode — likes to make call-back, self-referential jokes, so the repeated use grew organically from there. ‘Danger Zone’ sits so well within the overall context of the series.”

Love makes a good point. Sterling Archer isn’t merely a spy; he’s a grown man who loves to obsess over spy movies and everything that makes ‘80s action movies so great. Archer would be your friend at the bar who would argue that the volleyball scene in Top Gun isn’t homoerotic. It’s just a light-hearted game showing bros being bros, and if all those bro-friends happen to be sweaty and shirtless, good. They deserve to show off their bodies. (Side note: If anyone from FX is reading this, I would watch the heck out of a video of Archer and Mac from It’s Always Sunny explaining why that Top Gun scene is 100% straight).

So what exactly went into getting the rights for this iconic song? According to Love, every time that the song is used, it has to be cleared. The system for securing the proper music licensing stays the same no matter if the song is used in the show, promos, or behind-the-scenes videos. “The circumstances were different each time, but the mechanics remained the same,” Love said. “The first step always involves having the necessary conversations across all parties to ensure that each individual touching the project knows how the song will be used in the production and reaches a ‘comfort zone.’ From there we negotiate the best deal to ensure that the show, its producers and its partners can meet their objectives.”

After that, both Love and the producers have to watch rough cuts of the music cues. “I‘m not sure I could guesstimate the number of hours I spend watching rough-cuts of music cues, but it’s less than the producers — some of whom watch a full episode up to 100 times prior to air,” she said.

Love was also involved in Archer’s Season Seven theme. This season’s trailer was a shot-for-shot remake of Magnum P.I.’s trailer. This isn’t the first time an Archer trailer directly copied a real-world theatrical trailer. Here’s the cast of Archer in the Season Five promo, acting as if they were in Top Gun. Shoutout to that hyper-preppy outfit Lana would never wear:

For comparison, here’s a side-by-side of Magnum P.I.‘s opening credits with Archer’s Season Seven promo:

When asked why this particular series was chosen for Season Seven, Love said, “It continues Sterling Archer’s evolution as a secret agent — first a spy, then Vice [referring to Archer‘s Miami Vice-themed fifth season], now a P.I. — while simultaneously continuing the series’ tradition of paying homage to TV classics.”

However, Love and her team weren’t involved in the visual elements of the trailer. “The guys at Archer are the best. They certainly don’t need animation advice from me, so we just stick to looking after music clearances and licensing.”

While high profile projects such as “Danger Zone” and Magnum certainly get the most attention, Love’s professional relationship with Archer doesn’t just end with these projects. “Although the ‘Danger Zone’ and Magnum references are higher-profile, I probably find the obscure music clearances to be the more interesting projects. Archer’s producers have a knack for making final song choices that are relevant, funny, on-point, highly creative and — importantly — clearable,” she said. “Time isn’t wasted chasing elusive songwriters or artists who don’t want to be involved.“ So that’s the long and the short of it when it comes to Archer‘s music licensing. If we’re still doing phrasing, then phrasing.

You can watch new episodes of Archer on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX or FX Now. Melissa Love is the Senior Director of Songfinder.

[Where to stream Archer]